“New York [US], May 22: Amid high levels of hunger and acute shortage of food in Gaza, the United Nations has suspended food distribution in Rafah due to a lack of supplies and insecurity in the densely populated area, as reported by Voice of America (VOA).
Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesperson, stated on Tuesday that the distribution centres of the World Food Program and UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees, are inaccessible due to the ongoing military operation in Rafah.
The Rafah crossing into Egypt, once the main entrance for aid, has been closed since May 6, and no aid trucks have crossed the US-built floating pier in two days, according to the UN.
A spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP), Abeer Etefa, warned that humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse. Etefa emphasized that if food and other supplies don’t resume entering Gaza in massive quantities, famine-like conditions will spread.
Additionally, UNRWA stressed that its health centres have not received medical supplies in 10 days, although its health care staff still conducts medical consultations at its centres, as reported by VOA.
Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, shared a post, stating that Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza has been under siege since May 19, with no one allowed to leave or enter. Tedros highlighted that 22 patients, their companions, and 148 hospital staff are still trapped inside.
On Monday, the medical staff at al-Awda reported a sniper attack on the building. An artillery rocket hit the fifth floor where the administration office is located, but there were no injuries.
Following the attack, the WHO chief called for humanitarian access to the hospital and an immediate ceasefire.
A senior Washington administration official on Tuesday said that there are now multiple crossing points for aid to come into Gaza, including through the humanitarian sea corridor where aid is inspected in Cyprus and delivered straight to the Israeli port of Ashdod without additional inspection there.
“We’re looking to flood in (aid) as much as possible. And then it is up to a number of groups inside Gaza to do the distribution in various ways,” the official said.
He further noted the need to coordinate deconfliction and convoys encountering armed elements that “self-distribute” humanitarian assistance.
Israeli forces carried out a deadly raid on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank and fought Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip, reported VOA.
The Israeli ground troops and aircraft were battling Rafah, while troops also fought terrorists in central and northern Gaza, killing at least five people in Rafah.”
